Today, ‘greening our lives’ isn’t just a catchphrase, but a reality in the making, and our diets are at the helm of this transformation.
Increased availability of plant-based products in supermarkets and restaurants speak for the upward trend in plant-based eating.
So, what propelled this transition? The seemingly discreet repercussions of animal agriculture - food insecurity and malnourished populations, suffering animals and a polluted, deteriorating environment.
With this knowledge seeping into the wider consumer sphere, so is the understanding of the importance of a paradigm shift from the current food systems towards one that enables a sustainable future, and higher human and animal welfare.
Why plant-based?
The kind of food structures we have in place currently, if not rectified in time, will dock us at ports of climate catastrophe, food scarcity, and public health risks.
Animal agriculture is a pandora’s box of ecological, ethical and human health problems. It stands out as one of the primary sources of environmental, climate and resource depletion issues.
Raising and housing farm animals devours an enormous amount of land and water resources and is also one of the leading causes for biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions.
Filling up our plates with more plant-based foods will help combat climate change and conserve precious planetary resources.
Farm animal production facilities are also breeding grounds for pathogenic microorganisms, for example, the avian influenza, swine flu resulted from animal agriculture. Consumption of animal products is also linked to long-term health diseases like heart disease, diabetes, obesity.
Sourcing our food through plants helps not only avoid, but also reverse some of these health risks. Plant-based foods are known to be a reservoir of a wide variety of nutrients and phytochemicals and thus help reduce the risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality.
Dietary shifts to plant-based food also help reduce social costs and animal cruelty.
Cycling crops through animals is immensely inefficient.The massive feed requirements to raise billions of animals redirects a significant amount of grains away from starved populations in need of nourishment, to get more expensive meat, dairy and egg products.
This inefficient conversion of energy and resources further exacerbates the problem of food security that looms large over the ever-growing human population.
Lastly, consumers are becoming more aware of the cruelty and confinement inflicted upon farm animals, and are looking for ethical alternatives.
Eating plant-based made easier with easy-peasy recipes.
Along with plant-based food options entering the mainstream trends, making them at home has become easy like never before, moving far beyond tossing salads and turning chickpeas into hummus.
Here plant-based products refer to direct replacement of animal-based milk, meat, eggs and so on, where they aim to approximate the taste and texture of animal meat.
They say the new way to do milk is, plant-based. Unlike animal-based milk that stirs a whirlpool of sustainability, compromised animal welfare and human health problems, plant-based milks measure up to most of the ‘good milk' parameters.
These milks are made from nuts, cereals, legumes and so on. You get to choose from a diverse range of healthy and nutritious milk alternatives.
Almond milk, for example, is an excellent non-dairy alternative and serves as a great functional replacement for beverages, cooking and baking.
The milk has got a very mild and diverse flavour that makes it ideal for every recipe - everyday or unconventional. Be it sweet breakfast recipes - to savoury main course - to desserts, almond milk is your go-to milk.
Likewise, cashew milk is a great nutritious alternative that is packed with healthy unsaturated fats, proteins and many other vitamins and minerals. This milk is also quite versatile and goes well in soups, sauces, home-made ice creams, cereals, smoothies, tea, coffee and so on.
Milk from cereals, like oat milk, is a good gluten-free option and works very well for people with nuts or soy allergies.
It is considered to be the best-tasting plant-based milk and is filled with fibre, protein, B vitamins and minerals, that includes calcium, iron and magnesium.
The consistency of oat milk is similar to that of dairy milk and is an excellent inexpensive alternative to cook with at home.
The recipe to do these milks at home is super easy. All you need is a blender and just two ingredients - the source of your milk (nuts, cereals and so on) and water.
All you have to do is soak-blend-strain-pour and voila. There goes your glass of nutritious yummy plant-based milk.
The transformation in our diets to go plant-based surely started with alternatives to dairy, now it also has more consumers demanding alternative protein-meat made from plants.
The progress of the alternative meat sector can be tracked by the fact of it going from a niche market to mainstream.
The best part is that some of these alternatives can be made at home. Yes, you read it right!
You can make your meat at home. One such popular alternative to conventional meat is seitan - the popular wheat meat.
Made from wheat-gluten and water, seitan is known to be protein packed and low carb alternative to animal protein. To make this amazing vegan meat substitute all you have to do is rinse wheat dough with water to remove the scratch.
This procedure leaves you with a dense mass of pure gluten protein that can be marinated, baked, cooked and cut into slices just like conventional meat.
It acts as a perfect substitute for ground beef and chicken strips. The best part - it is easy to prepare and an inexpensive alternative.
Another great alternative for animal protein for home chefs is jackfruit. The fruit’s meat texture is sinewy and tender and very well replicates the texture and tenderness of animal meat, something which other plant-based meats struggle to replicate.
Apart from these alternatives to animal products, the ingredients that go into vegan food are also a big part of the enhanced taste and flavours.
A lot of plant-based meat, eggs and cheese recipes are sprinkled with the goodness of nutritional yeast, an ingredient with a complete protein profile and is also gluten-free (best to check the labels while buying). Many people use it for its flavour which is described to be nutty, creamy and umami.
The experiments and knowledge about plant-based food is still in its nascent stage and there lies a whole horizon of possibilities in front of us to explore more and use plant resources to mimic animal protein.
With each plant ingredient providing different functionalities, taste profiles and nutrition, it is important for consumers to dive deeper into the subject and make the most of the benefits that plant-based foods offer.
As part of our goal to engage with consumers and encourage easy transitions to the consumption of more plant-based foods, HSI/India is currently organising weekly webinars on various aspects of the plant-based culinary world.
Food industry giants and plant-based experts meet with our participants every Friday at 5 pm, to discuss tips and recipes to make delicious, healthy plant-based meat, dairy and desserts at home.
(The author is MD (interim), Humane Society International/India. She can be contacted at asengupta@hsi.org)